City celebrates launch of Trainee Nursing Associates course with partners

The event was hosted at City in partnership with London South Bank University

First published Monday, 26th June, 2017•by

City, University of London and partners have celebrated the launch of the Trainee Nursing Associate (TNA) course at a special event towards the end of June.

The event, which was hosted at City in partnership with London South Bank University, featured talks from professionals from City, LSBU and NHS as well as TNAs themselves.

Representatives from Bart's Health, North East London Foundation Trust, East London Foundation Trust, Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust and Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust also attended the launch.

In January 2017, City was chosen as one of 11 sites across England to deliver the first wave of training, which takes two years, for the new Nursing Associates role. Designed to sit alongside existing nursing care support workers and fully-qualified registered nurses, the new role is intended to deliver hands-on care for patients and will help to transform the nursing and care workforce. The role aims to bridge the gap between health and care support workers, who have a care certificate, and graduate registered nurses and offers opportunities for health care assistants to progress into nursing roles.

Introducing the event, Professor Stanton Newman, Dean of the School of Health Sciences at City, spoke about how working closely with LSBU has enabled everyone to pull together and successfully launch the course. Professor Newman also talked about the pressures created by our ageing population, with numbers expected to rise from 1.4m in 2014 to 3.6m in 2037 in the UK. As a result, due to the “tsunami of chronic conditions” due to this population, TNAs will play a huge role in address these issues.

Professor Warren Turner, Pro-Vice Chancellor/Dean of the School of Health and Social Care at London South Bank University then spoke about TNAs at their institution, and how through their enthusiasm and reliance they will be ready to take their place in the Registered Nursing Family in 2019.

TNAs from City and LSBU then spoke about their experiences, with one student highlighting how the course had enabled them to “learn from one another and bring much the classroom, as we are getting the academic knowledge behind the skills we’re carrying out.”

“The biggest positive is that we’re all growing in confidence and changing the way we practice,” said another. “We are here to promote patients’ health and well-being and to make the NHS a better place for everyone.”

“In the workplace now they respect our opinions as we are beginning to understand the rationale behind out treatments,” said one TNA from City.

Ms Debbie Jurasz, Associate Director NMATH at Barts Health NHS Trust, then spoke about the North East London Journey, speaking about the new role, its creation and how it could potentially transport the sector and care, highlighting how it provides a more structured pathway for health care assistants who are looking to join the Registered Nursing Family.

Wrapping up the event, Ms Louise Morton, Dean of Healthcare Professions from Health Education England - working across North Central and East London – discussed the future landscape and the challenges ahead. Speaking specifically about the Trainee Nursing Associates, she said “this is so needed and wanted”, but emphasised that “it’s how we tell the story right now.”

The celebration continued after the talks with afternoon tea at City for the TNAs and partners.

Speaking about the event, Julie Attenborough, Associate Dean and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the School of Health Sciences at City, University of London, said:

“It was wonderful to be able to welcome all our Trainee Nursing Associates to City today to not only celebrate their achievements, but also hear their stories and discuss the challenges ahead. We are only at the start of the journey, but already our Nursing Associates are bringing huge value to City and the wider sector, and we look forward to following their journey through their respective institutions, towards them formally joining the Registered Nursing family in 2019 as the first of their kind. Thank you also all our partners and the London South Bank University for their support.”

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